The whole "dad bod" thing

Have you heard the term dad bod? I had heard rumblings but I looked into it further when Kaitlyn Bristowe (the latest Bachelorette) remarked to my beloved People magazine that she didn’t want a mate with the “dad bod”. Even as someone who feel looks matter and fitness definitely matters my “uh oh antennae” activated.

OK so first this “dad bod” term. Dad bod is said to be coined by college student Mackenzie Pearson. At least she’s credited with it but she also says her friends had been using the descriptor so I can’t be sure. Who really cares? What’s interesting is that “dad bod” refers to a man “with a nice balance of a beer gut and working out.” Basically, a guy with a normal body. I cannot even for a minute imagine if “mom bod” was used. I think of mom jeans and a total backlash “this has nothing to do with having kids” etc.

As usual, I digress. The truth is I think dad bod has been widely accepted for a long time. Washboard abs are not on many women’s list of requirements especially if you are in a relationship with a “dad” and I mean married or just in a long-term relationship (not with your dad, someone else’s dad etc.).  If I’m speaking personally (and my husband has never been overweight, very active etc.) a) that “I spend my life lifting weights” look isn’t my thing and b) would any woman seriously want all that goes along with a guy who is more neurotic than you are? No thanks, I've got that covered.

So the dad bod concept isn’t new. The dad bod is actually a step up from what many men (over 25) look like.  If I’m dreaming I wish men would come out and say “we don’t like a woman with a super flat stomach, perfection is not what we’re after”…but that would require I go back to sleep and dreamland.

What do you think of dad bod? Ladies, single and otherwise, do you want washboard or dad bod? Do you think says something that Kaitlyn doesn’t want a guy with a dad bod? Please tell me you knew who Kaitlyn was. And guys do you like women saying that chiseled isn’t crucial or do you even care?

Mindful but not Neurotic

New Foodtrainees often ask “how long do clients typically see you?” That’s a tricky question to answer. Most clients come intensively in the first couple of months but the really successful Foodtrainees don’t see our work in those terms. If you think about it, would you ask a personal trainer “how many visits will I need?” Or a therapist? Food is the same way. Though clients may not come weekly for the duration they check in, schedule a bunch of visits to reboot and realize the value of accountability.

I am an excellent digresser but session frequency wasn’t the point of this post. I had a client in my office last Thursday and we realized that we first met five years ago. I have seen her in spurts but this time of year is crazy for her with work and so we’re usually in contact. She opened her session (long time Foodtrainees know I prefer the good news first though we all have the tendency to want to confess our food sins) saying “I feel mindful but not neurotic”.

I jotted that comment down in my notebook. Progress with weight should make us less obsessive not more. I’ll call this client Five (for our five years). Five knows what foods to bring for her trips. She also knows how to reign it in before and after to allot for travel eating. Most of all, she knows which behaviors leave her at the top of her comfortable range and what she’s doing when she wants to drop.

I was doing a radio show last week and was asked “who is the Foodtrainers’ client?”

I joked and said I  could be a Foodtrainers’ client and added it’s someone who likes input and a system, someone busy with work or family or travel or just stuff. Someone who likes to eat but likes their clothes fitting well and wants to age gracefully.” My client Five is all of the above. Happy Anniversary to her and I’m raising my glass (ok coffee mug) to us all being more mindful and less neurotic.

Why do you think we want rapid results when it comes to food and weight? Would you have thought that clients come to us for 5 or 10 years? Are you more mindful or more neurotic?